Where can life take us,
Our mind has not already been?
It shall be a place like out of memory,
But strangely different,
Alien, yet like coming home.
It shall be the sum of all our wanderings,
But not taste of failure,
A place we never left,
Grown strange to eyes newly opened.
What name could fit this island,
Floating, lost amidst a dream?
I call it heaven.

Restless mind:
Never still,
Always seeking the next big thing.
Take the light of future’s dawn
And you take my life.
For there’s no living
Without the air time brings my lungs;
I swim or die
And silent stillness laughs
To think I’ll ever reach her.

Over the last 9 months – 6 to write, 3 to edit – I’ve been writing my first self-help book. It is with a sigh of relief that I can announce it is finally complete. I say complete; in reality there will be numerous changes at the behest of friends and family that are currently reading it, but it is high time I blogged about it.

Self-Defence for the Mind is a book based on the understanding I have gained from my experience in the Martial Arts and my subsequent pursuit of Zen philosophy. When I was taught Zen it wasn’t as an esoteric philosophy or an incomprehensible state, but a set of tools for dealing with the various problems life can throw our way. No insight I have gained since has persuaded me there is a better approach. With this in mind I set out to write a book that would teach these skills in a way that was straight forward and practical. I set out to show the reader how to defend his mind as effectively as any Martial Artist can defend his body.

There are other books that have attempted something similar, through various means. On the whole I have found them to be largely incomprehensible, albeit genuine, or so watered down they were useless. It will be up to my readers, may they be many :), to decide if I have been more successful.

Now that I have a readable first draft in place, and whilst I seek representation, I would very much welcome feedback. In the first part what do you think of the name and selling point of the book as described? All comments welcome.

Secondly, I intend to post some extracts here but to make this easier, it would be very useful to hear what you – my readers and fellow bloggers – would like to read about. There are many subjects to choose between:

1. Stress: finding your balance and riding the wave
2. Happiness: self-worth in your own hands
3. Emotions: mastering the mind-storm
4. New Eyes: life without labels
5. Living in a bubble: coexistence and the centre of your universe
6. Spontaneous Mind: handling problems as they come up
7. Images in the Mirror: the science and art of self-knowledge
8. Self Growth: setting a course for change
9. Conclusions: building strong pillars
10. The Positivity Bank: great inputs to keep you going and keep you growing

Let me know what chapter sounds most interesting and I will post accordingly. Votes by comment below. I will of course reciprocate by commenting diligently on contributors blogs. Many thanks!